Duane Charles Wosje

Duane C. Wosje, 91, of Medina, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, entered eternal life as he passed away peacefully on Friday, April 17, 2026.

Duane was born on August 19th, 1934, and raised on a farm outside of Volga, SD. He graduated from Volga High School and went on to earn his undergraduate degree from South Dakota State University. He began his career near Madison, Wisconsin, where he met the love of his life, Carol. They married, started a family, and soon after, Duane returned to school to pursue his doctorate in Food Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

He later moved his family to Minnesota, first settled in Crystal and soon moved to Golden Valley and spent most of their years there. His career led him to Yoplait Yogurt at General Mills, where he was part of the brand from the beginning and played a key role in developing many of its original flavors.

Duane was a man of strong faith and deep devotion to his family. He found great joy in volunteering at church and within the community, golfing, following sports, coaching, traveling, and spending time at the lake.

He was preceded in death by his daughter, Carolynn Johnson; his parents, Ada and Clarence; his brother, Carl & wife Carolynn; and his sisters, Blanche Peters and Sylvia & husband Gene Muilenburg.

Duane is survived by his loving wife of 67 years, Carol (Strutt); his children, Jerry (Heidi), Jeff (Tery), Scott (Kathy), Steven (Nadia), Marylou (Eric) Bentley, and son-in-law Jay (Jill Yeager) Johnson; his grandchildren, Jeremy, Sara (David), Joshua (Kelly), Jacob (Emma), Matthew (Doreen), Rachel (Tyler), Julia, Blake, Lauren, Megan, Leah, Drew, Carly, Kayla, Haley, Marissa, Madelyn, and Evalena; and his great-grandchildren, Theo, Kai, JJ (Joshua Jr.), Lena, Grayson, Anthony, and Aria. He is also survived by his brothers, David (Linda) and Walt (Yvonne); his sister, Rhoda (Howard) Siewert, his brother-in-law Curt Peters; and many nieces and nephews.

A funeral service will be held on Thursday, May 14, 2026, at 11:00 a.m., with visitation one hour prior, at Plymouth Covenant Church, 4300 Vicksburg Ln N Plymouth, MN 55446.

The family extends heartfelt thanks to the caregivers at Covenant Living of Golden Valley and Park Nicollet Hospice for the kindness and compassion they provided to Duane in his final days.